IEEE 802.11ay is the next generation of IEEE 802.11ad. IEEE 802.11ad enables directional multi-gigabit (DMG) communications, and IEEE 802.11ay introduces enhanced DMG (EDMG). Both DMG and EDMG operate on the 60 GHz unlicensed spectrum. IEEE 802.11ay can achieve up to 20 Gbps throughput with introduction of channel bonding, channel aggregation, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technologies.
Generally, in IEEE 802.11ad and IEEE 802.11ay, a wireless device, also referred to as an access point (AP), a personal basic service set (PBSS) or a station (STA), may indicate its support of capabilities to the network by transmitting a Capabilities Element in Association Request, Association Response, Reassociation Request, Reassociation Response, Probe Request and/or Probe Response frames, and/or in DMG Beacon and Information request and response frames. In IEEE 802.11n (which provides high-throughput (HT)) and IEEE 802.11ac (which provides very high-throughput (VHT)), the Capability Information field in the Capability Element includes a Supported Channel Width Set field (which is 1 bit in HT; and 2 bits in VHT), by which a STA declares its channel width capability.
Channelization used by EDMG STAs is proposed for IEEE 802.11ay, in which the maximum number of 2.16 GHz channels to be bonded is 4 (maximum channel width is 8.64 GHz). Also as proposed, EDMG supports two types of carrier aggregation: namely 1) 2.16 GHz+2.16 GHz; and 2) 4.32 GHz+4.32 GHz. Improvements to the Capability element and Operations element would be desirable to enable the PCP/AP and STA to communicate their capabilities for EDMG communications, including information for channel bonding and carrier aggregation.